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Legal View with Ashleigh Banfield

Memphis Manhunt; Planned Parenthood Debate; Potential MH370 Debris. Aired 12-12:30p ET

Aired August 03, 2015 - 12:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[12:00:00] LT. GEN. MARK HERTLING, CNN MILITARY ANALYST (via telephone): You talk about 60 people on the ground gathering intelligence, perhaps contributing to targeting and the fact that you now have airplanes in Incirlik, which are - which is less than 150 miles away and can do true close air support as opposed to kinetic strike packages, that makes a heck of a lot of difference. And I think you will see in the near future there will be many other elements within Syria saying, hey, I want to be a part of that, because right now all they have on the ground are AK-47s and RPGs. What you could get in the future is the weight of an entire international air armada contributing to the support against ISIS and, truthfully, against the Assad regime.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Lieutenant General Mark Hertling, thank you so much.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: That's all for us. LEGAL VIEW starts right now.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: A manhunt is on in Memphis for a cop killer who gunned down an officer who apparently stumbled into a small-time drug deal.

Also ahead, the Republican-controlled Senate pushes for a vote to defund Planned Parenthood amid the latest video capturing discussions of fetal tissue used in medical research.

And nearly 10,000 firefighters battling more than 20 wildfires blackening well over 100,000 acres across California.

Hello, everyone, I'm Fredricka Whitfield, in for Ashleigh Banfield. Welcome to LEGAL VIEW.

Let me begin with this. We are told the drug deal interrupted by a Memphis police officer late on Saturday was petty, barely $20 worth of marijuana, but it cost that officer, 33-year-old Sean Bolton, his life. And right now a $10,000 reward is being offered for the capture of his alleged killer. He is identified as 29-year-old Tremain Wilbourn, a convicted bank robber out on probation. And in a news conference yesterday, the Memphis police chief could hardly contain his disgust.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DIR. TONEY ARMSTRONG, MEMPHIS POLICE: And when you look at this individual, you're looking at a coward. He's a coward. You gun down, you murder a police officer for less than two grams of marijuana. You've literally destroyed a family. Look at the impact that that's had on this department, this community, this city for less than two grams of marijuana. A misdemeanor citation and a fine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN's Nick Valencia joining me now with more on this. We're also joined by our law enforcement analyst, Harry Houck, who is the consultant and former NYPD detective.

So, Nick, you first. Tell us what we know about this shooting, how it all happened.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, it was just after 9:00 p.m. on Saturday night when Officer Sean Bolton noticed a car parked illegally. He went to approach that car. That's when the passenger, 29-year-old Tremain Wilbourn, got out of the car, approached the police officer, a struggle ensued, eventually leaving that officer, Sean Bolton, shot multiple times. Now, local residents in the area did hear that shooting and rushed to the scene. They tried to use Officer Bolton's radio to phone in to 911 to let him know - to let them know that he had been shot. Here's part of that frantic call.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RADIO: 4-8-70, 4-8-70, (INAUDIBLE) Summer Lane, 487 Summer Lane. He's shot. He's shot.

DISPATCH: Officer is shot?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALENCIA: Any time an officer's life is lost, it is a devastating situation for a police force. We understand that Memphis has particularly been going through a rough period in the last four years. Three of their officers have been shot and killed in the line of duty, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And then, Nick, tell us more, that there was a driver involved who also turned himself in.

VALENCIA: My producer, Devon Sayers, just got off the phone with that driver's attorney, and what we understand is that driver was there to make a drug deal. He admitted that. The lawyer admitted that - that his client was there to sell a small amount of marijuana, about $20 worth, and that his client, once he saw the police officer, approached the car, took off running.

Now, the client - that driver did not hear - I'm sorry, should say did not see the shooting but heard six to eight gunshots. The lawyer for that driver says he believes his client's testimony to the police while he was brought in for questioning was instrumental to lead to the arrest warrant for this 29-year-old Tremain Wilbourn. A $10,000 reward being offered for information leading to his arrest. And we understand by the police union telling us that the U.S. marshals have also joined this very aggressive manhunt.

Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And then, Harry, of course, this is devastating for the family of the police officer and for the police force itself.

HARRY HOUCK, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Yes.

WHITFIELD: You know, Officer Bolton is the third Memphis cop to be killed in four years there. The 19th killed in the U.S. this year. So help people explain the loss of an officer. What does it do to an entire department?

[12:05:02] HOUCK: Yes, well, it's definitely demoralizing and very tragic as a police officer when you see one of your officers cut down in the line of duty like this, especially when this man, this thug was released early from jail. He was a violent felon who committed armed robbery and was serving time for that. and we see this time and time again. So as police officers, when we see people like him being released early and then committing crimes, that's very, very disheartening.

WHITFIELD: And this kind of killing, is this indicative of the kind of danger that officers are facing all of the time, the unpredictability?

HOUCK: Right. Exactly. Car stops are one of the most dangerous things you can do as a police officer. And in the past year, several police officers have been killed in the line of duty countrywide making car stops. So when people are pulled over by police officers and they say, the cop looks a little nervous, you have to look at situations like this because a police officer is approaching and he does not know who is in that vehicle.

WHITFIELD: And so, Harry, help folks understand, what's the procedure? How will officers go about looking for the suspect?

HOUCK: Well, there's probably a thousand different things going at this time. Once we have him identified, what we're going to do is we're going to track him down, use of his cell phone, if he's got a cell phone, any transactions that he makes through his family, through his girlfriends, things like that.

And the fact also the U.S. Marshals have said they would come in and help with the search. The U.S. Marshals are really great at this. They do this all the time. They track fugitives all the time.

What really drives me crazy is, why did these guys think that they're going to get away with it? Nobody ever gets away with killing a cop.

WHITFIELD: All right.

HOUCK: Why they do that - and I think this point here is this guy just plainly did not want to go to jail again because he was already on supervised release and he thought that he had to kill this police officer.

WHITFIELD: All right, we'll have to leave it there. Harry Houck, thanks so much. Nick Valencia, thank you as well.

HOUCK: Thanks.

VALENCIA: You bet.

WHITFIELD: Appreciate it.

All right, the U.S. Senate headed for a showdown over Planned Parenthood amid the uproar over those videos revealing discussions about fetal tissue and medical research. That's straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:10:40] WHITFIELD: All right, in a few hours, the Senate will take up legislation proposing to cut off federal funding to Planned Parenthood. The women's health group is in the spotlight after the release of undercover videos by an anti-abortion group. It shows Planned Parenthood officials discussing the sale of aborted fetal tissue for medical research. Planned Parenthood says it did not break any laws and says the videos are heavily edited. Our senior Washington correspondent Joe Johns joining us now.

So, Joe, today's procedural vote to defund Planned Parenthood is based mostly on these four videos. Is there any more evidence?

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: There's a possibility that there are more videos. In fact, part of the drama is playing out here on Capitol Hill on the Senate floor later this evening. Part of the drama is playing out in federal court in San Francisco around 4:00 Pacific time where a judge is hearing arguments on whether there ought to be a permanent injunction to bar the release of additional videos. Conservative media has reported there may be as many as nine more of these and the National Abortion Federation has gone to court seeking an injunction and asking the judge to bar the release of those videos because they're concerned about, among other things, intimidation of the people who work for them. So there's stuff going on in both the east coast and the west coast, Fred.

WHITFIELD: And then, Joe, who would investigate further beyond, you know, the video. Would it be Congress that would need more than just the video? Would it be federal investigators? State? Who?

JOHNS: Well, Congress can investigate just about anything it wants and there are people on Capitol Hill who have called for a congressional investigation into these videos. As well, a number of states have apparently launched their very own investigations into the videos. Not all of the states that have heard about them or seen them have decided to go forward with an investigation but a handful of states have started looking at it, Fred.

WHITFIELD: OK. And then Republican, Democrats, you know, the White House all, you know, are agreeing that the videos are deplorable. They're disturbing are the words that are being used specifically. Without - without, you know, some federal funding, can Planned Parenthood sustain itself? JOHNS: It would be very difficult for them. At least $500 million goes

into the Planned Parenthood coffers every year. And, of course, the question is, how is that money spent? Planned Parenthood says only about 3 percent of the services it provides actually go to abortions. Planned Parenthood does a lot of other things, including contraception, Fred, so there's that.

WHITFIELD: All right, Joe Johns, keep us posted. Thanks so much.

So the anti-abortion group, Center for Medical Progress, had planned to release more controversial videos, as Joe was just talking about, but a California judge slapped a temporary restraining order against it on Friday. Let me bring in now our HLN legal analyst Joey Jackson and CNN legal analyst Danny Cevallos.

Good to see both of you, gentlemen.

JOEY JACKSON, HLN LEGAL ANALYST: Good to see you, Fredericka.

WHITFIELD: All right, so, Joey, you first. You know, the California judge who issued the restraining order said it was out of concern for the safety of the staff at the National Abortion Federation, but the head of the anti-abortion group says this restraining order suppresses First Amendment rights to free speech. So why would the judge impose this kind of restraining order?

JACKSON: You know, it always depends on who you ask and it depends upon the legal analysis that goes into it, Fredricka. But here's why. When you have a group that's posing as something it's not, and exercising what's called bad faith - I know they made videos. They certainly have an agenda. They have a point of view. Many people agree with their point of view. Other people don't. But legally speaking, when you record someone, let's be clear, that California is a two- party recording state. That means that if you're going to make any recording, you need the other person's consent. You can't do it on your own.

The second thing is, at the meeting apparently there were these non- disclosure agreements that were signed. And let's also be clear about the fact that you can waive a First Amendment right. Attorneys really do it all the time. Whenever you settle a case, you sign a waiver and release. Oftentimes you make things confidential. You can't talk about certain things. And so I think the essence of it is, there's a two- fold issue here. One is, the recordings and whether they should have been made in the first instance. The second is the signing of a non- disclosure agreement committing not to disclose it and then later going and doing so.

[12:15:06] But remember also that it's an injunction and what that means is that on the merits at this point they're enjoined from disclosing this one bit of information, but there'll be a hearing coming up in August to determine more information as to whether they can disclose it all.

WHITFIELD: So then, Danny, as it pertains to Planned Parenthood, you know, what is unlawful here if indeed fetal tissue is being used in medical research. Would it be the selling of the fetal tissue? Profiting from the sale of the fetal tissue? What?

DANNY CEVALLOS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: There are federal and state laws dealing with the sale of body parts and body tissue and things like that. The real question becomes - there is an exception where you are using the costs - you're basically selling for just enough money to pay your reasonable costs. So the question arises, what is reasonable, right? If we are talking about bags full of sweaty hundred dollar bills and millions and millions of dollars, well, then there's going to have to be some showing that this is more about defraying costs and less about lining people's pockets. So profit in this situation becomes a very fluid concept. And, of course, in this case the - those engaged in the sale of these parts would argue that, you know, this is a very expensive business and we are only making a chip in all of the massive costs of doing this kind of business.

Of course on the other side the argument would be that you are making a profit, that profit is much more than your reasonable costs and therefore you are in violation of federal and/or state law which does prohibit the sale of body parts.

WHITFIELD: All right, Joey and Danny, we're going to leave it right there. We're going to talk more, though, later on this hour. Thanks for now.

JACKSON: Look forward it to. Thanks, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right.

All right, up next, scouring the beaches for more pieces of the Malaysia Flight 370 perhaps and what more we have learned from that piece of wing that did wash ashore.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:20:27] WHITFIELD: All right, continuing coverage now on Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370. An intense search is underway for more debris around Reunion Island where a piece of a plane's wing washed up last week. Malaysian officials are now confirming this piece of debris belongs to a Boeing 777, but it still has not officially been linked to that missing plane, MH370.

Joining me now from Paris is CNN's senior international correspondent Jim Bittermann, along with CNN safety analyst and former FAA safety inspector David Soucie in New York.

All right, so, Jim, you first. You know, how long might it take to determine the origins of this piece of that Boeing 777?

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, they're expecting to take a look at it on Wednesday, the experts down in Toulouse, France. And they're expecting to be able to say right away whether that's MH370. I don't think there's anybody that really seriously doubt this. There's only been four crashes of 777s in the world. All of them - all three of them have been over land, including London and in San Francisco and one that was shot down in the Ukraine. Only one, MH370, went down over water. And this flaperon, this part that fell off or is found floating in the ocean is not the just the thing that just falls off an airplane. It had to be some kind of an impact that would take the - take that part of the wing off.

So I think it's - all signs are that this is part of the MH370 flight. And the question now is I think more what can they learn from this piece of metal. Is there some indication that there was an explosion or that they can maybe perhaps find out what plane - what speed the plane was flying when it crashed and this thing sheared off the wing. That's the kind of thing I think they'll be looking at more intensively now.

Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And so, David, how will investigators try to determine whether there was an explosion or what the speed of the plane may have been?

DAVID SOUCIE, CNN SAFETY ANALYST: Well, there's a couple of things about that - that specific flaperon that make me think that it may have been a high speed situation. One of them is the trailing edge is feathered. And what that's indicative of is transonic range, which is where the airplane is approaching the speed of sound, but the air over the wing has exceeded the speed of sound and it creates an extreme flutter. And that could be an explanation for what we see here.

But I think that the - as Jim said, too, the next step is, what can it tell us about - if there was an explosion or not. Even if there were an explosion inside the aircraft, I'm not sure that there would be explosive debris that far out on the wing that would show up on this. But explosive debris can survive that type of trip across the ocean, oddly enough.

WHITFIELD: So then, Jim, are French authorities only involved in this kind of probing of this piece or are they also going to assist in retrieving any more potential debris?

BITTERMANN: Well, they're certainly looking at that. One of the things that's happened here is the search area, as you mentioned, has been expanded now and the Malaysian authorities have asked people in Madagascar and Reunion and other parts - other islands out in the area to be on the alert for things they might see washing up on the beaches.

And as you might imagine, people are coming up with all sorts of stuff. This is not exactly the cleanest ocean in the world and all kinds of bits of debris are being washed up and people are wondering whether this bit of metal or that bit of metal might have been part of the flight. And I suspect that they're going to see a lot of this material coming in for analysis over the next few days and weeks. How much of it will have something to do with the flight is another question.

Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Jim Bittermann, thank you so much. And, David, really quickly before I let you go, are owe encouraged by this find? Are you feeling pretty optimistic?

SOUCIE: Well, it's - it's hard to be optimistic about this type of tragedy, but, nonetheless, it is optimistic that we have some information now. We can rule out some of these wild theories and things like that.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

SOUCIE: So I think it's a good thing, Fred.

WHITFIELD: In terms of helping to solve this mystery. All right, thanks so much, Jim Bittermann, David Soucie, appreciate it.

And, of course, if you have questions you want to tweet us, tweet us at #mh370qs.

Also, up next, what's behind the skyrocketing murder rate in Baltimore and other big cities? Police chiefs from across the country are huddling in Washington, D.C., today to try to figure it all out and perhaps even fix it.

Plus, another drone flies dangerously close to a plane at JFK Airport in New York City and now Homeland Security is warning that they could be used as weapons of terror. That story next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:28:34] WHITFIELD: All right, and this just in to CNN. The top law enforcement official in Texas was booked today on three criminal charges. Ken Paxton, the Texas attorney general, faces two counts of fraud and one of failing to register as an investment advisor. Paxton turned himself in at the Collin County Jail and was freed on $35,000 bail. Felony indictments are due to be unsealed at any time now.

And a drone came dangerously close to a plane landing at New York's JFK Airport last night. The third such incident over the weekend. Here's how the pilot reported it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PILOT: There's a drone that's on the runway.

CONTROL: Uh, location please?

PILOT: Right - roll out of, uh behind this, uh Perimeter 3, 5911.

CONTROLLER: Altitude?

PILOT: 30 feet.

CONTROLLER: Left or right?

PILOT: Left side. Little black quadcopter.

(END VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: On Friday, two other planes reported drones within 100 feet of them at JFK. All of the planes landed safely. But Homeland Security officials have issued a general warning that drones near planes could be exploited as terrorist weapons.

[12:29:46] And President Barack Obama is rolling out an ambitious new climate change plan later on today aimed at cut emissions from coal- burning power plants. Opposition is already coming from the coal industry and Republicans who say it will lead to higher energy costs. By the year 2030, the president wants a 32 percent reduction in power sector carbon pollution from 2005 levels.